Who can do business alone? Creating a business that supports other businesses, with Michael Edwards
Michael Edwards shares what sparked the entrepreneurial drive within him to start The Northern Affinity and cultivated his passion for community and collaboration in the world of business.
Three key juicy bits from this week’s episode:
- Building and strengthening your network
- Becoming confident with your pricing model and projected revenue
- Collaborating better with business partners and team members
In this episode we discuss:
00:42 An introduction to Michael Edwards
- Michael’s current focus [01:03]
06:24 Michael’s initial thoughts on potentially running a business
11:37 Why Michael prioritized flexibility in his work hours
14:15 Conceptualizing The Northern Affinity
- Getting partners and other stakeholders onboard with the idea [18:14]
- The initial proposition for the business [19:14]
22:58 Starting the business
- The Northern Affinity’s subscription model [27:25]
- The perks of becoming a partner at The Northern Affinity [32:06]
35:50 How quickly it took The Northern Affinity to achieve their planned revenue
- What Michael is projecting for annual revenues [38:18]
43:07 Knowing your pricing model and making sure that your revenue is predictable
45:14 Michael’s biggest failure in business and lessons learned
51:08 Michael’s parting shotx
Links Mentioned:
Books Mentioned:
Quotes
- Be aware of what your pricing model is. Understand it and be realistic about it. Everybody’s business is different. There’s no right or wrong way of doing it. But as long as you understand it, you can keep track of what needs to be improved upon.
- It’s not just listening to an idea, but investigating it as well. Don’t just listen to the suggestion. Dig down deeper and figure out why they’re suggesting that. Oftentimes, the solution the person is offering isn’t the solution they need, but the solution they think they need.
- There’s nothing better for any business than negative feedback. It’s the best thing that you can get because it’s a chance to learn and progress.
- Don’t spend your life planning because sometimes good is good enough. You’ve just got to go for it and evolve as you go